Maurice Brosnan: Eight observations from the hurling championship
Ryan Kelly Bryan Keane, Tony Diarmuid Celebrate Clare's Inpho And Pic: Elation:
Five years ago, the inaugural U20 hurling championship saw Clare play a single game in Munster. The semi-final finished in a one-sided eight-point defeat against Cork.
Clare lost their only fixture of the 2020 competition as well. They overcame Kerry in 2021 only to bow out against Limerick, going down by 13-points.
That same season Cork’s minors inflicted the infamous 40-point hammering on Clare. In the 2022 U20 group stage, Clare lost both of their matches, narrowly losing out by two against Cork in the final round.
Between 2016 and 2022, Clare won one match at U20/U21 level, the previously mentioned Kerry tie. Brian Lohan still developed a host of players from the four outfits from 2019-22. Several of them contributed to their All-Ireland winning season.
Darragh Lohan, Aidan McCarthy, Diarmuid Ryan, Mark Rodgers, Cian Galvin, Robin Mounsey, Adam Hogan and Shane Meehan all made the step.
More come behind them. The captain of that minor team in 2021 was Sean Rynne. After the semi-final triumph over Kilkenny, the official GAA social media account shared a photo from the 2013 victorious campaign.
It showed a child outside Croke Park, clad head-to-toe in saffron and blue gear with signatures scrawled all over his chest.
11 years later, Rynne was pictured back at Croke Park, celebrating on the field with his arm around Hogan, still sporting the Clare jersey proudly.
That is what Lohan has done across the board. Spot potential even in hardship and make it flourish.
David Fitzgerald has previously spoken about his struggles to make the starting team and at one stage, the 26-man panel. Lohan pushed him further up the field. He won an All-Stars in 2022. Now he has a Celtic Cross.
“Lohan the legend. He has led us to All-Ireland success,” said an elated Fitzgerald on Sunday.
“That man probably deserves a statue next week. We’ll build it for him.”
Here are eight observations from the 2024 hurling championship.
Everyone expected a shootout. No one was left disappointed. Extra-time ensured it was the highest-scoring final ever. Per , Cork also set a new single-season scoring record in championship with a total of 271 points.
The number of one-on-one battles only added to the theatre. Push up, protect little.
Both coaching tickets would have been conscious of the threat that comes with embracing this opportunity. For Clare, it meant Robert Downey was able to run half the field without a defender covering across to meet him.
Only one player cheated off their opponent. David McInerney ignored half-forward Declan Dalton outside the 65-metre line and headed for the square. Adam Hogan didn’t realise he was tucking, so stuck close to Alan Connolly. One miscalculation saw their entire defence cracked.
Kelly’s wonder goal stemmed from the same Cusack Stand side and from another Eibhear Quilligan restart. David Fitzgerald caught it clean, but Cork’s defensive lapse came with what happened all around him.
Peter Duggan sprinted out of his way towards the sideline and Robert Downey followed him. Tim O’Mahony stood up and allowed Kelly to ghost in behind. Mark Coleman did leave his direct opponent, David Reidy, however his tackle attempt failed to disrupt Kelly.
Clare clearly tried to manipulate Cork’s puckout defence early on. However, they only retained 2/10 long puckouts, scored 0-1 and conceded 1-3 from them in the first half.
From the break until the final whistle, they retained 16/27, scored 2-5 and conceded 0-2. How the hell do you explain that change?
Firstly, they went to their proven ball winners. Peter Duggan and O’Donnell moved closer to goal as half-time approached.
For Qulligan’s first puckout of the second half, three Clare runners broke to the right sideline while he went towards the left. Shane O’Donnell was able to burst into the vacant space and win the break. It led directly to a simple Duggan point.
Duggan, no longer marked by Robert Downey, claimed the next puckout clean and laid on for Fitzgerald.
Clare’s forwards clustered in the centre for the next long ball and once again, Cork’s defenders followed them. This time Reidy ran into the wide open space on the wing. Declan Dalton wasn’t quick enough to drop back for the break. Rodgers won it and scored a superb goal.
At the other end, Cork continued to go long. The basic breakdown looks dreadful. In total, they won 10 of 38 long, conceding 0-9 and scoring 0-6. However, delve deeper and the damage isn’t as grave. Even though they lost 26 long puckouts, Pat Ryan’s side won 11 of them back to log 0-6. Clare controlled primary possession. Cork worked exceptionally hard to turn possession back over.
Cork are aware of the collateral damage that comes with their approach. They expose their goal to fire and back themselves to outgun it. Ask Pat Ryan about referees and he’ll point to what he feels decided the match. For him, it wasn’t the defence.
“From our point of view, the goal opportunities that we missed, that was the key to the game I think.”
At the launch of the All-Ireland hurling championship last month, Limerick’s Séamus Flanagan collared Clare’s Tony Kelly to ask him about two vital matters. The first was requesting a signature for his son, Charlie, who adores the Banner captain. The second was about his hurley.
Flanagan and Kelly both use popular manufacturer Torpey. The company are most famous for their bamboo model. It can take some getting used to. Flanagan found the light didn’t hold enough weight, but the medium was too heavy, so eventually settled on the solution of using the light version with a band.
Kelly wasn’t comfortable with the bamboo. He prefers their ash instead with a big bás. On Sunday with that stick, he cast magic.
He created 0-2. Of his 1-4 total, two points were to draw them level. The goal and another two scores were to give Clare the lead.
The degree of skill in each effort was extraordinary. Twice from each sideline, he let loose on his right-hand side with a man closing. At least once that included a slap on the knuckles. On his left side, he spun acrobatically for a point, he flicked another around two opponents and he took his goal only after bouncing the sliotar over a rushing defender’s head.
In Clare, the task of appointing a successor to Gerry O’Connor and Donal Moloney looked messy. A special meeting was eventually called and delegates requested that the process be restarted.
At that meeting, it emerged that three candidates were willing to put their names forward, Moloney, Louis Mulqueen and Brian Lohan. At an initial interview, they were asked to provide details of their proposed management team.
Current selector Ken Ralph was included as part of Lohan’s ticket. As was James Moran, who has since left. At the time, some names were attached who weren’t available. The other man on Lohan’s list was Eamon Myers.
Myers is an IT Grad from UL and DCU, as well as an accredited GAA performance analyst. Based in Kerry, he has worked with several teams including Lohan’s UL Fitzgibbon side. Sunday’s victory means he has now helped two all-time greats to silverware. Myers was also part of the David and Paudie Clifford-inspired East Kerry management team that prevailed in the Kerry County championship.
History was broken. An often-used GAA quiz question is no longer factual. The last All-Ireland hurling final to go to extra-time before Sunday was 1891. Although it was played in 1892, Kerry beat Crossabeg of Wexford after extra-time.
It was a team made of players from county champions Ballyduff and runners up Kilmoyley. Maurice Fitzmaurice, the great grandfather of Eamonn, featured.
History repeats itself too. On Sunday, an announcement rang around Croke Park that trains would be delayed due to extra-time. Per , 132 years ago the victorious train into Tralee didn’t arrive until 3.00am.
This was Patrick Horgan’s 83rd championship game. Seamus Harney was representing his county for the 58th time in championship. They both led the way.
Harnedy was Cork’s top scorer from play with 0-4. He was also their leading creator, laying on 0-5.
Their exceptional start was thanks to his awesome influence. The wing-forward sent Tim O’Mahony away for the opening white flag and followed it up with one of his own. That point was created by veteran Horgan.
Horgan had a terrific tussle with Conor Leen. They both emerged with credit for their contribution. He finished with 0-12, including two from play and assisted 0-3. He revealed post-match that he couldn’t sprint due to a hamstring injury and he still lasted until the bitter end. It was his late free that gave them a fighting chance in the closing stages.
The Glen Rovers man closes out the year as the top scorer in championship history with 29-629 (716).
David Fitzgerald finished as the top scorer from play in the 2024 championship with 2-21. Just imagine what his final tally could have been if his radar wasn’t off in the All-Ireland final.
The number 8 had his first effort hooked, the sliotar dribbling towards the end line. He clipped his first of six wides 30 seconds later. He dropped another one short in the second half and rifled a goal opportunity off Ciaran Joyce’s boot in extra-time.
And yet he was still effective.
It was Fitzgerald who created Kelly’s goal. He assisted another point for Ian Galvin. He notched three points.
Two of his wides were marginal and required Hawk-Eye’s intervention. In some ways, his performance merely reflected what was a remarkable contest.
There was no doubt in Conor Leen’s mind. He did pull Robbie O’Flynn’s shirt before that final shot. He would do it again.
"As a back, you kind of play on the edge,” he told Marty Morrissey. “You get away with it sometimes, sometimes you don't, and I did yesterday and I'd do it every day if I could."
In Gaelic football, the introduction of the black card prompted a gradual evolution. Cynical fouling did not cease. It became more intelligent. Wrap tackling, pulling back but not down became a coaching cue. The same is happening in hurling.
The scope of the black card is to pull down an opponent, trip or use the hurley in a careless manner. It does not include pulling back.
Early in the first half, Patrick Horgan pulled out a delightful sidestep to slip Hogan. As he made for goal, the cornerback reached out and grabbed the back of his jersey. It was not enough to bring the 36-year-old down.
His goal attempt went the wrong side of the post and referee Johnny Murphy awarded a free.
Speaking of shots, across the last three games of the 2024 Championship there were approximately 230 minutes of action, plus additional time.
Across those two semi-finals and finals, there was an eye-watering 288 shots. Since covid, the shooting rate has exploded upwards. And it doesn’t look like it will slow down any time soon.
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